The anger of the Tunisians and the Egyptians towards the autocratic regimes in their countries has triggered an unprecedented revolt in several states in the Arab world. Our dossier provides an insight into the factors that led to the unrest and an overview of current developments
The Arab Islamists and Erdogan's Turkish Islam
On his latest visit to Cairo, Turkey's prime minister Erdogan had a message for supporters of political Islam – that state should not get involved in the religion of the people, and should maintain the same distance to all religions. A slap in the face for unreconstructed opponents of secularism, says Khaled Hroub More »
The Arab League and the Conflict in Syria
The Arab League is taking a remarkably firm line towards the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which is setting its face against reform. Loay Mudhoon argues that this is a reaction to the revolutionary events and the regional shifts in power in the Arab world More »
The Arab Spring and the "Nahda" Reform Movement
The democracy movement of 2011 is not the first such upswing to grip the Arab world. It revives the hopes associated with the "Nahda", or "Arab Renaissance", of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. An analysis by Jean-Pierre Filiu More »
Interview with the Yemeni Minister Huria Mashhour
In Yemen, it is predominantly the younger generation protesting against the immunity law that guarantees dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh full legal protection for the entire duration of his 33 years in office. Charlotte Wiedemann spoke to Yemen's Minister for Human Rights, Huria Mashhour, in Sanaa More »
Interview with Morocco's Minister Bassima Hakkaoui
PJD politician Bassima Hakkaoui is the only woman to hold a ministerial post in Morocco's new, Islamist-dominated government. In conversation with Siham Ouchtou, the Minister for Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development addresses the concerns of women's rights organizations over the government's gender equality policy More »
The West and Syria
The mass atrocities being committed daily in Syria will not cease without outside intervention, says Radwan Ziadeh, spokesperson of the Syrian National Council More »
Interview with Andrea Teti
A year ago Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power. A spirit of hope hung heavy in the air, however one year on people in Egypt are still struggling to come to terms with his legacy. Anne Almeling talked to Andrea Teti about the country's future More »
Interview with Ali Granmayeh about Iran and the ''Arabellions''
In 2009, well before the Arab Spring began, Iranians rose up against their regime in what became known as the Green Revolution. Their uprising failed. So how do they and the Iranian regime feel about the wave of uprisings that have swept the Arab world this year? Mona Sarkis met Ali Granmayeh, a former Iranian diplomat, to find out More »
The Arab Spring and Its Implications
The Arab revolts of 2011 have been above all an uprising by the region's youth. From Rabat to Riyadh, from one end of the Arab world to the other, this is a generation which is sceptical towards any ideology, including that of Islamism. An analysis by Volker Perthes More »
Peace Research into the Arab Spring
The 2011 Peace Report, which was compiled by the five largest peace research institutes in Germany, is almost 400 pages long. The general tenor of the report is a demand for more support for the Arab Spring. Bettina Marx reports More »
Interview with the Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkol Karman
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkol Karman has become the face of the protest movement in Yemen. In this interview with Majid Sattar, she accuses the West of failing to break with the old regime in Sana'a in deference to Saudi Arabia More »
After Yemen's Presidential Election
Militia in the north, separatists in the south, al-Qaeda and the return to the country of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh ... the challenges facing Yemen's interim government on the road to democracy are staggering. From Sanaa, Birgit Svensson explains that the country's new leadership is actually fighting a war on four fronts More »
Power Struggle in Yemen
The power struggle in Yemen is primarily a conflict between two families: On the one hand that of President Saleh, who clearly has no plans to leave office quietly, and on the other the Ahmar family, which presides over the Hashed tribal confederation. By Rainer Hermann More »
Uprising against the Assad Regime in Syria
If the creeping massacre of the Syrian population is to be stopped, now is the time to send out an unambiguous message, warns Volker Perthes, expert on the Near East and director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs More »
The Opposition in Syria
As the protests and demonstrations against the Assad regime in Syria continue to grow, the question of who it is that is behind them is one that is becoming more pressing. Radwan Ziadeh, founder and director of the "Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies" and "Damascus Spring" activist, provides some answers More »
Interview with the Syrian Poet Adonis
The Syrian poet Adonis was recently accused by Syrian opposition circles of not distancing himself clearly enough from the Assad regime. Khaula Saleh talked to him on the subject More »
Assad in Isolation
The international community has sharply condemned the violent crackdown in Syria. Support in the Arab world is waning for the Syrian regime, who insists on sticking to its guns. Petra Nicklis and Sabina Casagrande report More »
Violent Crackdown in Syria
The government in Damascus enforces bloody crackdown on its own people during the holy month. The regime is at war with its own people and is trying to devise new explanations for the protest wave. Svenja Andersson reports More »
The Imprisoned Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah
"Instead of arresting the murderer of the blogger Khaled Said, the military imprisoned me, just before the birth of my son. The only good thing is that the protests are continuing," writes Alaa Abdel Fattah, one of the Egyptian revolution's best-known bloggers and activists More »
Joris Luyendijk on the Prospects for Societal Change in Egypt
On the road to democratic and economic development, Egypt faces two major hurdles: endemic corruption, and a deadbeat educational system. But, says Joris Luyendijk, there may be hope from an unexpected corner: Islam More »
Egypt in Transition
Quo Vadis, Egypt? Political observers and supporters of the 25 January Revolution are critical of the fact that the military council is increasingly avoiding any kind of control by the people and is giving old political cronyism precedence over real democratic change. Hassan Nafaa reports More »
Democracy and Rule of Law in Egypt
In the same way that the Egyptian revolution of 1919 initiated an epochal transformation, this year's popular revolt of 25 January provides an opportunity to raise public awareness in Egypt on how important it is for a modern culture to uphold the rule of law, says the Egyptian journalist Azmi Ashour More »
Relations between Christians and Muslims in the New Egypt
The epochal transformations in the Arab world offer a historic opportunity for Muslims and Christians in these countries – and especially in Egypt – to establish a new, constitutional foundation for their relations. A commentary by Loay Mudhoon More »
After the Fall of Gaddafi
Political change in Libya is proving to be anything but easy. With internal division rife among tribal clans and supporters of the National Transtional Council alike, there is simply too much disunity and strife among the rebels. The form that any roadmap to democracy might take in the new country also remains unclear. Alfred Hackensberger reports from Tripoli More »
Post-conflict Reconstruction in Libya
There are many pitfalls ahead for post-Gaddafi Libya – but there are also many reasons to be optimistic about the success of post-conflict reconstruction, says Stefan Wolff in his assessment of the country's mid-term perspectives More »
Libya Post-Gaddafi
There is unbridled joy at the toppling of Col. Gaddafi – not just in Libya, but also in the West. But who exactly are the men serving on the so-called Transitional Council? And what was the true motivation behind the military action against the Libyan dictator? Werner Ruf comments More »
Rebuilding Libya
Six months after Libyan rebels took up arms against the country's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, they have finally toppled him. But, while victorious on the battlefield, they have not been triumphant in political and economic terms. By Barak Barfi More »
Libya's Rebels and Post-Gaddafi Libya
As the Libyan conflict enters its endgame, the time for the country's rebels to seize power is almost at hand. But are they ready to govern Libya when divisions and rivalries pull at the very threads of their alliance? Nick Amies reports More »
Interview with Abdul Aziz Al-Khamis
The women of Saudi Arabia will be allowed to vote for the first time in 2015. Why not already today in the current local elections? Abdelmoula Boukhraiss discussed this topic with the well-known Saudi Arabian civil rights activist and journalist Abdul Aziz Al-Khamis in London More »
New Line of Succession to the Saudi Throne
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has named Naif bin Abdelaziz, 77, as crown prince and deputy prime minister, a choice that raises concerns about the direction in which the conservative prince will take the kingdom. By Mai Yamani More »
Interview with the Saudi Arabian Blogger Ahmed al Omran
Ahmed al Omran is one of Saudi Arabia's most popular bloggers. In this interview with Benno Müchler, he explains why people in Saudi Arabia do not have an inclination to revolt, and assesses the prospects for political reform in the country More »
Unrest in Bahrain
Relations between the opposition and the government, which is under the control of the Sunni royal family, continue to deteriorate. There have even been some calls for the overthrow of the monarchy. Sabine Damir-Geilsdorf investigates the historical roots of the uprising More »
Political Protests in Bahrain
Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has so far dealt with the protest movement in the Gulf state with the utmost severity. Now the authoritarian monarch is increasingly coming under pressure to introduce democratic reforms. Birgit Svensson reports from Manama More »
The Media in Tunisia after the Revolution
Riadh Ferjani says that changes in Tunisia's media landscape look more like a consequence of power balance between the different clans in the current government than a nascent process towards a democratic media system. An interview by Judith Pies More »
Tunisia Begins to Process Recent History
In mid-October, people in Tunisia will vote for a constituent assembly aimed at putting the country on the path to democracy. Meanwhile the process of coming to terms with the 23-year Ben Ali dictatorship has only just got off to a hesitant start. A reportage by Sarah Mersch in Tunis More »
Tunisian Blogger Lina Ben Mhenni
A professor at the University of Tunis, Lina Ben Mhenni was instrumental in informing people about repression under the Ben Ali regime. In this article she writes about the mood of the protests that would change the face of Tunisia More »
Interview with Ralf Melzer
A few weeks after its peaceful revolution, Tunisia must deal not only with reconstruction, but also with an influx of people fleeing civil war in neighbouring Libya. Considering the circumstances, Tunisians are handling things surprisingly well, says Ralf Melzer in this interview with Eleonore von Bothmer More »
Political Islam in Tunisia
The role of the Islamists in the political future of post-Jasmine Revolution Tunisia is now the topic of feverish debate. While some fear the establishment of a theocracy, others would like to see political Islam tolerated – as evidence of the country's new pluralism. Alexander Göbel reports More »
